Table of Contents

In This Article:

Can a leader be successful in all circumstances and situations? The answer seems to be “not always”.

While general management skills are universal to many corporate leaders, Groysberg, McClean and Nohria (2006, 3) found that there are other types of skills and experience that shape performance in one job and may influence performance in a new one.

relationship human capital: the extent to which an individual manager’s effectiveness can be attributed to working with colleagues or as part of a team.

In Harvard research, Ulrich, Normwood and Sweetman (2008:9) concluded that leadership comprises two principal parts: 60%-70% consisting of a leadership code, and the balance of 30%-40% of differentiators. The leadership code of five common behaviours include:

Rule 1: Help shape the future: The question: “Where are we going?” Leaders understand not only the strategy but make sure that those around them understand the direction as well. They not only envision, but work with others to figure out how to get from the present to the desired future.

Rule 2: Make things happen: The question: “How will we make sure we get to where we are going?” Leaders translate strategy into action. They understand how to make change happen, to assign accountability, to know which key decisions to take and which to delegate, and to make sure that teams work well together.

Rule 3: Engage today’s talent: The question: “Who goes with us on our business journey?” Leaders are talent managers who know how to identify, build, and engage talent to their organizations, develop people, engage them, and ensure that employees turn in their best efforts.

Rule 4: Build the next generation: The question: “Who stays and leads the organization for the next generation:” Leaders not only ensure shorter-term results through people; as human capital developers they ensure that the organization has the longer-term competencies required for future strategic success. Just as good parents invest in helping their children to succeed, human capital developers help future leaders to be successful.

Rule 5: Invest in yourself: The question: “What do I bring to leadership?” At the heart of the leadership code – literally and figuratively – is personal proficiency. Effective leaders cannot be reduced to what they know and do. Who they are as human beings has everything to do with how much they can accomplish with and through other people. Leaders are learners: from success, failure, assignments, books, classes, people, and itself. Passionate about their beliefs and interests, they expend an enormous personal energy and attention on whatever matters to them.

Each person’s leadership will look and feel somewhat different based on personality as well as more external circumstances (position, job level, industry, company culture). That said, every leader must master the fundamentals. Thus there is room for standard programmes that all leadership candidates must undergo to establish a common base of skills and behaviours. But this will not be sufficient.

The differentiators comprise 30% to 40% of the equation and may vary by companies’ strategy and vision, and by individual job requirements. Thus the leadership model must be carefully aligned to the strategic intent of the particular company.

Given these differentiators, how does an organization ensure that they align their leadership bench with their strategic intent? The answer to this question lies in one’s beliefs around the origins of leadership. »